Year: 2019

Irish horse Downdraft will run in the Moonee Valley Cup to try to work his way to the Melbourne Cup. Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien will saddle his first Australian runner away from Flemington when Downdraft runs at The Valley. O’Brien won the 2017 Melbourne Cup with Rekindling and also saddled US Army Ranger in that race. He returned last year with Latrobe who ran second to Trap For Fools in the Mackinnon Stakes. Downdraft runs in Saturday’s Moonee Valley Cup and is one of four O’Brien-trained horses heading towards…

Beauty Generation will attempt to achieve three consecutive wins in the Hong Kong Mile. The 2019 Hong Kong International Races has attracted a bounty of stars among 202 nominated horses, with 66 Group 1 winners from 12 countries/regions eyeing the four-race HK$93 million event at Sha Tin on 8 December. This year’s entry is 11 up on 2018 and features world heavyweights Almond Eye, Magical, Beauty Generation, Cross Counter, Benbatl and Santa Ana Lane. The nominees also include 10 Group 1-winning three-year-olds, notably Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck, 2,000 Guineas…

Consensus winning the Gr.2 Sunline Stakes (1600m). Photo: Quentin Lang Stephen McKee knows what it’s like to make an impression at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day. The Auckland trainer and his late father Trevor twice produced champion mare Sunline (NZ) (Desert Sun) for memorable wins in the Cox Plate, going back to 1999 and 2000. While McKee has attended the day on several occasions since, he will saddle Consensus (NZ) (Postponed) in the Gr.3 Powerflo Solutions Stakes (1600m) at The Valley on Saturday as his first runner on the…

English horse Prince Of Arran has received a 1kg Melbourne Cup penalty for his Geelong Cup win. Last year’s Melbourne Cup placegetter Prince Of Arran is now virtually assured a start this year race after being given a 1kg penalty for his win in the Geelong Cup. The penalty for Prince Of Arran’s win in Wednesday’s Group Three race at Geelong takes the Charlie Fellowes-trained international visitor’s Melbourne Cup weight to 54kg and puts him 23rd in the order of entry for the 24-horse field. Prince Of Arran has become…

Trainer Tony Gollan will have his first 2yo runner for the season when Starosa runs at Eagle Farm. Premier Brisbane trainer Tony Gollan will rely on filly Starosa as he begins to roll out his two-year-olds for the new season at Eagle Farm. Gollan sent Starosa and well-bred juvenile Aventurine to trial at the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday. He was happy with the performance of Starosa but believed Aventurine, who is related to Golden Slipper winner Crystal Lily, would need another trial before racing. Gollan had entered both for Saturday’s…

Jockey Luke Tarrant will continue his comeback with five rides at Eagle Farm. Troubled jockey Luke Tarrant gets a good chance to keep his comeback on the right course with two key rides at Eagle Farm. Tarrant, 25, was stood down by stewards in July after he was placed on probation in a criminal court on drug charges. He was granted a licence to resume under strict conditions two weeks ago and has since won three races at provincial tracks. Tarrant was back in court on Tuesday where he was…